We were blown away by the Toyota Crown's bold styling, exceptional ride comfort, and spacious cabin. High fuel economy is another big bonus. The base engine's performance is lacking, and some buyers may balk at the price, but overall we highly recommend the Crown for sedan buyers looking for something different from the norm.
Excess
Fuel economy is high with the base powertrain
Interesting style
Comfortable ride quality
What's new
An all-new sedan that replaces the Avalon
Every Crown has an all-wheel-drive hybrid powertrain
2023 is the first year of this new Crown for the US market
Summary
It won't be a surprise when Toyota discontinues the Avalon luxury sedan in 2022 as most buyers have been interested in SUVs for more than a decade. But it's a bit surprising to see Toyota re-enter this sedan class with the all-new 2023 Toyota Crown. Like the Avalon, the Crown is larger than the average midsize sedan but not large enough to qualify as a large sedan. The Crown differentiates itself from the Avalon with a higher ride height and distinctive styling.
Despite its unconventional looks, the Crown will likely appeal to an audience that prefers comfort and luxury over performance. In this area, the Crown is successful with its soft suspension and spacious interior. The real advantage comes in the form of fuel economy, with an EPA-estimated 41 mpg in combined city and highway miles from the base hybrid engine and standard all-wheel drive. There's a more powerful engine included with the top Platinum trim, but you'll give up 11 mpg in return.
Softer suspension tuning benefits ride comfort but sacrifices driving enjoyment as a result. Other sedans such as the Kia Stinger, Volkswagen Arteon, and Genesis G80 Corner with more poise and confidence but are still comfortable. But none of these products can compete with the Crown's fuel economy.
If you've been considering the Avalon, we're confident the new 2023 Toyota Crown will easily meet or exceed your expectations. Like the Avalon, it has premium status compared to other Toyotas, although it cannot be compared to a Lexus or similar luxury vehicle. The Crown has no direct rivals unless you move up to a more expensive and more luxurious luxury sedan. Other options worth checking out include the Kia Stinger and Volkswagen Arteon. Read our test team's Expert Ratings below for a full report on the Crown's highs and lows.
How does Crown drive?
We don't have high expectations for the Crown's driving experience considering it's a large hybrid sedan that focuses on comfort. But our test car, a Crown Platinum with the upgraded Hybrid Max powertrain, surprised us. It's a fun, easy-to-carry vehicle. Acceleration is smooth from a stop and responsive when you have to pass on the highway. It's also very fast. At the Edmunds test track, our Crown test car went from 0 to 60 mph in just 6 seconds, which is much quicker than most of the competition. Unfortunately, the XLE and Limited trims aren't as fast.
The Crown, despite modest grip from its all-season tires, felt particularly willing to play on twisty roads. His bar is relatively low, but he remains calm and provides enough feedback to give you confidence in exploring his abilities.
Comfort
How comfortable is the Crown? The crown provides comfort. Our test car had the top-of-the-line Platinum trim so it was equipped with adaptive suspension. It provides an excellent ride on almost any surface you throw at it. The softest setting did a great job of handling some of the worst road surfaces, and even the sportier setting still felt quite comfortable but reduced some body movement.
The cabin is also well protected from wind and road noise. We found the upgraded Hybrid Max powertrain on the Platinum trim to be quite quiet in our testing, but the standard hybrid felt noisier when you pressed hard on the accelerator. Another area where we found the Crown underwhelmed was rear seat comfort. Although spacious, the backrest angle of the rear seats is uneven, so you have to adjust a bit before finding a fairly comfortable position.
How is the interior?
The Crown sits a little higher than a typical midsize family sedan, and that helps with getting in and out of the cabin. Large door openings provide good head clearance. The space inside is relatively generous, but we wish the driver's seat offered more adjustability and was a little lower due to the odd SUV-like front end. Otherwise, the Crown offers reasonably good visibility thanks to a wide rear window and small blind spots. The Platinum trim's surround-view camera system also helps a lot when parking.
Technology
How is the technology? Toyota has stepped up its technology offerings in its newest vehicles, including the Crown. The touchscreen user interface has a bit of a learning curve, but the good news is that all the physical controls are easy to use and easy to see. The standard 12.3-inch touchscreen is large and responsive when used. Toyota's latest software also looks more modern. Toyota's voice recognition system is now one of the best in the business and lets you control functions like climate temperature or even ask questions like a smart home assistant.
All Crowns come standard with Toyota Safety Sense 3.0, the latest suite of advanced driver aids Toyota offers. Most of its functions, from adaptive cruise control to Proactive Driving Assist, work well to reduce driving stress and don't interfere with driving in general.
Storage
How is it stored? The Crown's trunk is average in size at 15.2 cubic feet. The rear seats can be folded to increase cargo space if you need it. Up front, the medium-sized center armrest housing has double hinges that let you open it from the driver or passenger side. Dodgy! Otherwise, storage is mostly limited to a wireless charger in front of the shifter and an expandable cupholder with a removable partition. The glove box is small, and there's no overhead sunglasses storage.
If you need to install a child safety seat, we found the top tether to be quite easy to access, which is unusual for most sedans. There's plenty of rear seat room to move the seat in and out, and the Isofix anchors are easy to access behind a removable pull tab.
Fuel Savings
What about fuel savings? The EPA estimates the Crown with its base powertrain will return an impressive 41 mpg in combined city/highway driving. The more powerful Crown Platinum with the Hybrid Max powertrain (which we tested) dropped drastically to 30 mpg combined. And in our testing, it did even worse, returning a disappointing 26.9 mpg on our standard test route. This may be an isolated result, but it could also indicate that the Kingdom may be thirstier than the official figures suggest. It's a little too Max and not quite Hybrid.
Mark
Is Crown good value? The Crown's interior design is a bit disappointing considering the price. The interior is well done, like any new Toyota, but nothing inside looks premium or even premium, which you might expect given the Crown's higher price compared to rival sedans. We're sure most of this car's price goes into the hybrid powertrain, but that might not be a convincing enough selling point for potential buyers.
Toyota's warranty coverage is fairly typical for its class with bumper-to-bumper coverage of three years/36,000 miles and five years/60,000 miles for the powertrain. Scheduled maintenance for the first two years is also free.
wildcard
In Hybrid Max form, the Crown is more fun to drive than we expected. It feels a bit heavy but has decent power and is willing to move if you try to coax it into some corners quickly. While we're not fans of the two-tone paint treatment that Toyota offers (seriously, guys, who think that looks good?), the Crown's overall look is futuristic and commands attention on the road. The slightly higher ride height is also an interesting design choice but has some ergonomic advantages and adds to the Crown's overall unique personality.
Toyota Crown Model
The 2023 Toyota Crown is offered in three trim levels: XLE, Limited, and Platinum. The XLE and Limited have a 236-horsepower hybrid powertrain, while the Platinum uses an upgraded version with 340 hp. The XLE and Limited trims use a continuously variable transmission, while the Platinum features a traditional six-speed automatic transmission. All models come with all-wheel drive. Feature highlights include:
XLE
Starting the Crown lineup with:
19-inch rims
LED headlights
The front seats are heated and power-adjustable
Fabric upholstery
60/40 split folding rear seat
Dual-zone automatic climate control
Digital instrument cluster
12.3 inch center touchscreen
Multiple USB charging ports
Android Auto and Apple CarPlay smartphone integration (wireless connectivity for both)
Wireless charging pad
Six-speaker sound system
The crown also comes with:
Forward collision mitigation (warns you of an impending collision and applies the brakes in certain scenarios)
Adaptive cruise control (maintains a driver-determined distance between the Crown and the car in front, working until it stops so it can be used in traffic)
Lane-keeping assist (directs the car back into its lane if the car starts to cross a lane marker)
Blind spot warning with rear cross-traffic alert (alerts you if the vehicle is in a blind spot when changing lanes or when reversing)
Safe exit assist (can prevent passengers from opening the door when traffic is approaching from behind)
Limited Build
on XLE with:
Two-tone alloy wheels measuring 19 inches
Upgraded LED headlights
Panoramic glass roof
Automatic windshield wipers
Keyless entry and keyless start
Leather upholstery
Ventilated front seats
Heated rear seats
Heated steering wheel
11-speaker JBL audio system
Front and rear parking sensors with automatic braking
Platinum
The Platinum is distinguished by an upgraded powertrain and an optional two-tone paint job that covers the hood, roof, trunk, and most of the rear fascia in black paint. He also added:
Two-tone alloy wheels measuring 21 inches
Paddle shifters
Adaptive suspension (adjustable to improve ride comfort and handling poise)
Surround-view camera system (shows a live view of the area around the car)
Advanced Park System (car can park itself in parallel and perpendicular parking spaces)
